Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy and let me what you guys think
Chapter 4: In the nick of time
"Yoruichi-sama…..kill the traitors….kill…..kill…..kill them all…"
"Soi Fon sama….."
"Kill…kill…kill…."
When she and her team had arrived at the household, Unohana could not find any bodies at all, with any trace of the bodies of the Omaeda family being reduced to dark blackish powder. This had stunned Unohana greatly. She knew about the capabilities of Jakuho Raikoben, but she did not expect it to do this much damage. The entire house had been reduced to ashes and as a matter of fact, it was only through the use of kido that Unohana managed to determine that some of those ashes did indeed belong to the bodies of the Omaeda family.
"Death in one strike alright…" mumbled Unohana.
"Taichou, did you say something?" asked Isane.
"Well…I can't be sure of it yet….but I'll let you know when I have more details."
"Okay taichou, if you say so."
Two weeks later…
Despite strict surveillance by the Gotei 13, no one had reported any sightings of Soi Fon. The patrol teams that went around Soul Society did not report anything out of the ordinary. It was also impossible that she had already gotten to them for when Toshirou had arrived at the estate of the Shihoin clan, he noticed that it was completely empty. If something had indeed already happened, he would have been able to get a reading of the spiritual energy in the area. Staying at his post for about a week or so, he was given the order to install security cameras and return to Sereitei to rest up. Also, the team monitoring the security cameras hadn't reported anything unusual.
"This is no good…" noted Yamamoto. "No contact has been made with the Shihoin clan….."
"Don't worry Sir," said Unohana as reassuringly as she could. "Well, we do know for a fact that the Shihoin clan is indeed safe…..we'll just have to be patient."
"That's why I'm worried…..Soi Fon could already have gotten to other targets of hers…and we're just sitting here waiting for something to happen…."
"Well, the patrolling teams haven't been reporting anything…..so things should be alright….."
With that, Soutaichou remained silent. He knew that Unohana had good intentions, but it did little to allay his fears. He knew very well that Soi Fon was a master at stealth, which made him believe that it was entirely possible that she could have been continuing on her murderous rampage without the knowledge of the Gotei 13.
Later during that evening…
"Sir, we've spotted the Shihoin clan!"
"What! Where?"
"They're heading back to their estate right now! It seems like they were on a vacation or something which would explain their absence."
"Alright, Toshirou taichou….."
"Don't worry Sir, already on it!"
The Shihoin clan had not known that Yoruichi had been murdered. After all, they could not be contacted for a rather lengthy period of time. It seemed that though, they would be lucky enough to avoid Soi Fon's ruthlessness for Toshirou had managed to arrive to give them the news before anything had happened.
"Wow….what a beautiful night," Yushiro, the brother of Yoruichi, said as he stared at the night sky as the constellations lay in perfect alignment.
"Well….time to head back in….."
"Halt!"
"Who's there?" yelled Yushiro as his guards drew their swords and encircled him in a defensive formation.
"I mean no harm…." said Toshirou as she stepped out of the nearby forest.
"Oh….a shinigami….."
"Yes…..I've got some news to deliver…..but may we step inside first?"
"Sure."
As they went inside, Yushiro had instructed the guards and the assistants to take care of the luggage and other items they had bought along their trip and leave him and Toshirou alone in the living room. He could tell that this piece of news was serious and he did not want to unnecessarily cause a panic.
"So Mr shinigami…what's this about?"
"It's about your sister…"
"I'm afraid that she's been…..murdered…."
At this, Yushiro buried his face in his hands as tears started to rapidly flow down his cheeks like a waterfall.
"I know this is hard but I need to warn you…"
"Who….who…who did this?" Yushiro summoned what little energy he had left to muster out the question.
"Well…..I know this is hard to believe…but it was none other than Soi Fon."
"What!?" said Yushiro in a surprised tone as he thought about the good relationship he and Soi Fon shared despite her hate for Yoruichi. "Why….why would did she do it?"
"Well, she had never forgiven your sister for abandoning her so yeah….."
"Oh….okay…..is that all?" said Yushiro as he wiped away the tears and sucked up the mucus that had been dripping from his nose.
"Well, since then, she's been going on a killing spree, targeting those who are related to your family. We're afraid that you might be her next target. So is it alright if I patrol the estate along with the other guards?"
"Sure…..it would be nice…to have some extra protection…"
"Alright, thanks for your co-operation and please do let me know if you see or hear anything suspicious," said Toshirou as Yushiro nodded his head in approval.
With that, Toshirou took his leave and began to patrol the area outside the Shihoin estate. He knew that he might not be able to handle this task alone if he ever had to face Soi Fon so he made sure that his communications device was always turned on.
"Dearest Sister…why did this have to happen…..what am I going to do without you?" Yushiro talked to himself. While reminiscing about the times that he had spent with his sister, he was interrupted by a sound that came from the nearby kitchen.
"Who goes there?"
"Hello Yushiro…..it's been a while…"
That voice, it all sounded too familiar. It sounded different though….it had a much more cold and menacing tone about it…..His worst fears had been realized. Turning around, Yushiro stood rooted to the spot as his eyes showed nothing but fear as he focused his gaze on Soi Fon. The rogue 2nd division captain looked different. She still wore her captain's haori albeit it was torn and tattered, but all parts of her eyes were now pitch black and crimson red blood constantly dripped from them. The white braids that covered her long hair were now gone, letting her messy hair extend all the way to the floor. This had greatly shocked Yushiro, but despite his attempts to keep calm, he perspired profusely and there was no way he could hide his fear.
"Soi Fon….shit….I've got to inform that shinigam….." Yushiro thought to himself.
"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost…."
"I'm just surprised as all….."
"Well….I would like to talk to you about something, if you don't mind."
"Yeah….yeah…sure….but just let me get a drink of water first….."
Trying to stay calm, Yushiro entered the kitchen and opened the fridge door. Although he said he was going to get some water, he attempted to send a message to Toshirou that Soi Fon had mysteriously appeared in the house. However, being a nervous wreck, his actions were easy to read as he wobbled constantly as he walked, being unable to move in a straight line.
Mid-way through his patrol, the 10th division captain picked up his messaging device as it sounded. His eyes widened in horror as he read the message and he was bewildered as to how Soi Fon managed to slip by him. Rushing to the door, he knocked on it as he did not want to charge in and make Soi Fon do something rash.
"Yushiro…it's me," the 10th division captain said in a deeper voice, trying to sound different so as to not alert the rogue captain of his presence. As the door opened, he was relieved to see Yushiro answering, but he quickly realized that something wasn't quite right. His eyes were dazed and he was seemingly staring off into the distance. His mouth was wide open letting drops of saliva fall out.
"Yushiro….san?"
Then, the drops of saliva changed into a grey liquid and suddenly, something had driven Yushiro as he crashed into Toshirou and the pair flew quite a distance back into a nearby tree.
"What the heck was that…" grunted Toshirou as he flipped and moved Yushiro's body aside. He then saw that a giant homonka was on his back and he knew in an instant that Soi Fon had poisoned him to death. Getting up, he stared at the door only to find that Soi Fon was staring right back at him.
"Greetings Toshirou, it's been a while."
"SOI FON!"
"Don't get in my way…unless you want to suffer the same fate as that poor bastard over there."
"You fool! Don't you remember anything at all? Snap out of it!"
"I don't know remember anything but I do know this. I will not hesitate to kill the people who kidnapped Yoruichi sama and those who get in my way."
"You idiot! You're the one that killed her with your own bare hands!"
"Nonsense. I should end your miserable life right here just for saying that….."
"Damn it….there's no use…she's completely lost it!" Toshirou told himself. Drawing his zanpaktou, he prepared to release his shikai but then quickly realized that Soi Fon's reiatsu was at a much higher level then usual. This had prompted him to take it up a notch.
"BANKAI! DAIGUREN HYOURINMARU!"
As his reiatsu level surged as well, Soi Fon seemed unimpressed as the ice wings formed on Toshirou's back and the as the flower petals appeared above his head. Toshirou, however, was still at a loss for words. As he stared Soi Fon down, he sensed that Soi Fon's reiatsu was still much greater than his, and she had only released her shikai. The young 10th division captain then thought it was no time for questions as he proceeded to attack. He summoned his ice dragon and launched it towards the 2nd division captain. Soi Fon, seeing the maneuver coming from a mile away, and had moved out of the way and out of Toshirou's sight.
"What the…..where…where did you go?! Come out you coward!"
"As you wish."
Suddenly appearing out of thin air, Soi Fon had taken Toshirou by surprise as she double stabbed the ice dragon with Suzumebachi in the head, causing it shatter into a million bits.
"Impossible…"
Then, the next thing he knew was that the ice wings on his back were completely sliced off. His bankai had completely been destroyed by Soi Fon in just a matter of seconds and this had sent chills up his spine. Soi Fon had somehow became that much stronger and Toshirou knew that he was completely overpowered. Before he could do anything else, Soi Fon had appeared in front of him in a flash, delivering a front kick to his jaw and as he flew into the air, Soi Fon rose up and dropped her heel on the top of Toshirou's head sending him crashing into the hard ground below with such impact that a crater ten metres deep had been formed.
"It's time to finish you off…goodbye weakling," Soi Fon said with an evil grin as she stared at the now unconscious 10th division captain as he lay in the crater.
"Senbonsakura."
Before she could go in for the kill, hundreds of pink flower petals had surrounded Soi Fon. Still, it was an easy task for her to break free of the hold but it had stopped her from ending another life. Landing back on the ground with her limbs spread out like a spider, Soi Fon witnessed three figures appear out of the forest.
"Byakuya….Komamura…Zaraki…"
"AHAHAHAHAHA, if you love a fight I would gladly participate," laughed Zaraki.
"Don't get too cocky Zaraki," warned Komamura as he too sensed that Soi Fon's reiatsu was at a much higher level.
"Hmmph…."
"Quite right," said Byakuya.
"You bastards, I should probably finish all of you right here and now….but I've got other matters to attend to but mark my words, you will all pay for this," said Soi Fon as she retreated.
Letting her make her escape, the three captains proceeded to recover Toshirou from the crater and send him back to Sereitei to retrieve treatment.
Back at Sereitei….
"He seems to have suffered from a few broken bones and what not…but he'll be alright" said Unohana.
"That's a relief," said Yamamoto. "We'll get the report from him once he wakes up."
"There's….no need….I'll give it to you now," Toshirou struggled to say as he lay on a medical bed.
"Please….there's no rush….."
"No….please listen Sir," Toshirou insisted. "Soi Fon had somehow mysteriously appeared inside the Shihoin estate without anyone noticing…there had been no signs of forced entry as well….then when we fought…..she completely dismantled my bankai in seconds…it's as if her power had increased by tenfolds…"
"WHAT!?"
"That's what I thought," said Unohana.
"What….do you…mean?"
"Well, when I went to inspect the wreckage of the Omaeda household, there was no rubble at all….only ashes. The heat generated by Jakuho Raikoben was too intense…and by my reckoning, albeit Soi Fon's bankai supposedly being a 1 hit-KO move, it still shouldn't have done that much damage…."
"This is worse than I thought…..she's growing stronger as time passes by." Yamamoto said.
"Well, we'll have to send more captains the next time," sighed Yamamoto this time knowing the great risks he was taking by sending so many captain-level shinigamis. If they couldn't get the job done, the divisions under these captains would be in disarray. This was the last thing Yamamoto needed, instability within the Gotei 13 as they chased the most wanted criminal ever in the whole of Soul Society. Times ahead Ilooked rough for the shinigamis and with Soi Fon still running loose, it was only a matter of time before things would start to get worse.
That's the end of Chapter 4. Thanks for reading